Constantine I (emperor)

. http://www.azargoshnasp.net/~iran/Din/traditionaldateofzoroaster.pdf [4].
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. “The Traditional Date of Zoroaster Explained”, BSOAS, Vol 40, No.

Some may find him difficult, he speaks the language of the professional scholar, but reading his works is certainly worth the time and effort. Shapur Shahbazi, Ali Reza. The Association of Ancient Historians has honored Ramsay MacMullen as being the finest ancient historian of the Roman Empire in our time. The Gathas of Zarathushtra, Heidelburg, 1991. [3]. http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/Eran/Articles/gnoli.html [3] Humbach, Helmut. [2]. "Agathias and the Date of Zoroaster," Eran ud Aneran, Festrschrift Marshak, 2003.

After 312, he added maximus ("the greatest"), and after 325 replaced invictus ("unconquerable") with victor, as invictus reminded of Sol Invictus, the Sun God. Gnoli, Gherardo. 1- In the English language, Constantine's official Imperial title is Imperator Caesar Flavius Constantine Augustus, the blessed, the lucky, the unconquerable. Zoroaster in History, Biennial Yarshater Lecture Series 2, Bibliotheca Persica 2000. Monmouth also said that Constantine was proclaimed "King of the Britons" at York, rather than Roman Emperor. Gnoli, Gherado. It was indecorous, Geoffrey considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors. Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism, University of Chicago Press, 1984.

A daughter for King Cole had not previously figured in the lore, at least not as it has survived in writing, and this pedigree is likely to reflect Geoffrey's desire to create a continuous line of regal descent. Boyce, Mary. Geoffrey claimed that Helena, Constantine's mother, was actually the daughter of "King Cole", the mythical King of the Britons and eponymous founder of Colchester. Its opening fanfare (corresponding to the book's prologue) was memorably used to score the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. 1136 during the reign of Stephen of England) is not considered a reliable source by modern historians. Richard Strauss's Opus 30, inspired by Nietzsche's book, is also called Also sprach Zarathustra. His Historia Regum Britanniae (written ca. It was this act that Nietzsche proposed to invert.

The English chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth offered a genealogy of British kings that linked them to the Fall of Troy at the end of the Trojan War. Nietzsche asserted that he had chosen to put his ideas into the mouth of Zarathustra because the historical prophet had been the first to proclaim the opposition between "good" and "evil", by rejecting the Daeva (representing natural forces) in favor of a moral order represented by the Ahuras. The last member of his dynasty was his nephew and son-in-law, Julian, who attempted to restore paganism. Nietzsche fictionalizes and dramatizes Zarathustra toward his own literary and philosophical aims, presenting him as a returning visionary who repudiates the designation of good and evil and thus marks the observation of the death of God. He was succeeded by his three sons by Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans, who secured their hold on the empire with the murder of a number of relatives and supporters of Constantine. In the nineteenth century, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used the name of Zarathustra in his seminal book Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra). At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire. With the translation of the Avesta by Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, Western scholarship of Zoroastrianism began.

In fact, by 336, Constantine had actually reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia, which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire promoted research into Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational Deism, preferable to Christianity. In addition to reuniting the empire under one emperor, Constantine won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni (306–308), the Franks again (313–314), the Visigoths in 332 and the Sarmatians in 334. He appears in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute under the variant name "Sarastro", who represents moral order in opposition to the "Queen of the Night". Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" from Christian historians long after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements alone. By this time his name was associated with lost ancient wisdom and was appropriated by Freemasons and other groups who claimed access to such knowledge. There was a singing of hymns." (New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908). Zoroaster was known as a sage, magician and miracle-worker in post-Classical Western culture, though almost nothing was known of his ideas until the late eighteenth century.

At the dedication of Constantinople in 330 a ceremony half Pagan and half Christian was performed, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot. Other prominent immortals are Geush Urvan, defender of animals, and Sraōša, Pahlavi Srōš "Obedience".. Offensive forms of worship, either Christian or Pagan, were suppressed. what builder created light and darkness? Through whom does exist dawn, noon and night?" (Yasna 44, 4-6). These funds were given to the favored Christian clergy. who feeds and waters the plants? .. The repair of Pagan temples that had decayed was forbidden. Zoroaster describes Ahura Mazdā in a series of rhetorical questions, "Who established the course of the sun and stars? ..

"From Pagan temples Constantine had his statue removed. In the yasnas, Zoroaster refers to these forces as "the Better and the Bad.". (MacMullen 1969,1984, New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908). The two opposing forces in this battle are Ahura Mazdā (Ohrmazd) (God) and Ahriman (The Devil). Leading Roman families that refused Christianity were denied positions of power, yet two-thirds of his top government was non-Christian. This may also be conceptualized as a battle between Darkness and Light. Constantine respected cultivation and Christianity, and his court was composed of older, respected, and honored men. This is often related to a struggle between good and evil in a Western paradigm.

(MacMullen 1969, New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908). A cosmic struggle between Aša "The Truth" (Pahlavi Ahlāyīh) and Druj "The Lie" (Pahlavi Druz) is presented as the foundation of our existence. Some examples:. If basic precepts of Zoroastrianism are to be distilled into a single maxim, the maxim is Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds). Constantine's laws in many ways improved those of his predecessors, though they also reflect his more violent age. The teachings of Zoroaster are presented in seventeen liturgical, texts, or "hymns", the yasna which is divided into groups called Gāthās. He began a large building program of churches in the Holy Land, which while greatly expanding the faith also allowed considerable increase in the power and wealth (and as such the corruption) of the clergy, as the clergy took over many aspects of government, including the courts and civil cases. It is possible that Zoroaster lived sometime in the 13th century BC to the 11th century BC, prior to the settlement of Iranian tribes in the central and west of the Iranian Plateau.

Exerting his absolute power, the army recited his composed Latin prayer in an attempt to convert them to Christianity, which failed. Also, the absence of any mention of Achaemenids or even any West Iranian tribes such as Medes and Persians, or even Parthians, in the Gathas makes it unlikely that historical Zoroaster ever lived in the court of a 6th century satrap. However, pagans still received appointments, even up to the end of his life. This would stand sharply apart from the view of a Zoroaster living in the court of an Achaemenid satrap such as Wištaspa. The reason for this later "change of heart" remains conjectural. Furthermore, a look at the Gathas and their composition shows us that the society in which they were composed was a nomadic society that lived at a time prior to settlement in large urban areas and depended greatly on pastoralism. His sermons preached harmony at first, but gradually turned more confrontational with the old pagan ways. Since the date of the composition of the Rig Veda has been put at somewhere between the 15th century BC to the 12th century BC, we can also assume that the Gathas were composed close to that time, at sometime before 1000 BC.

In his later life he even turned to preaching, giving his own sermons in the palace before his court and invited crowds. These similarities suggest that Old Avestan and Vedic were very close in time, probably putting Old Avestan at about one century after Vedic. Constantine also passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary, and more importantly, supported converting the coloni (tenant farmers) into serfs — laying the foundation for European society during the Middle Ages. The closeness in composition of Old Avestan and Vedic is so much that some parts of the Gathas can be transliterated to Vedic only by following the rules of sound change (such as the development of Indo-Iranian “s” to Avestan “h”). (MacMullen 1969). On the other hand, Old Avestan is very close to the language of the Rig Veda (known as Vedic Sanskrit). After his death it was renamed Constantinopolis (or Constantinople, "Constantine's City"), and gradually became the capital of the empire. The language of the Gathas, as well as the text known as “Yasna Haptanghaiti” (the Seven Chapter Sermon), is called “Old Avestan” and is significantly different and more archaic than the language of the other parts of the Avesta, “Young Avestan”.

Generations later there was the story that a Divine vision lead Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see, led him on a circuit of the new walls. As we know, Zoroaster himself composed the eighteen poems that make up the oldest parts of the Avesta, known as “the Gathas”. On the site of a temple to Aphrodite was built the new Basilica of the Apostles. However, from an early time, scholars such as Bartholomea and Christensen noticed the problems with the “Traditional Date”, namely the linguistic difficulties that it presents. The figures of old gods were replaced and often assimilated into Christian symbolism. This date, which was suggested in the Sassanian commentaries on the Avesta (Bundahišn), gives the date of Zoroaster's life as “258 years before Alexander the Great”. He renamed the city Nova Roma (New Rome), providing it with a Senate and civic offices similar to the older Rome, and the new city was protected by the alleged True Cross, the Rod of Moses and other holy relics. Henning and continued by Gnoli among others, is what is known as “the Traditional Date of Zoroaster”.

Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium which was said to have been founded by colonists from the Greek city of Megara under Byzas in 667 BC. B. This battle represented the passing of old Rome, and the beginnings of the Eastern Empire as a center of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation. A point of view held by many 19th century scholars, among them Taghizadeh and W. (MacMullen 1969). Here we shall look at the most prominent of these arguments. He was the sole emperor of the entire Roman Empire. Accordingly, any date from the 6th century BC to 6000 BC has been suggested, although some with more merit than others.

Supposedly outnumbered, but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious. Different sources ranging from linguistic evidence to textual sources and traditional dates have been used by various scholars to determine the date of Zoroaster. Constantine and his Franks marched under the Christian standard of the labarum, and both sides saw the battle in religious terms. One of the most important, and dividing, of all issues regarding the Iranian history is “the date of Zoroaster”, that is the date when he lived and composed his Gathas. Licinius, aided by Goth mercenaries, represented the past and the ancient faith of Paganism. Zoroastrianism then seems to have acquired a solid footing in eastern Iran, where it continues to survive in dwindling numbers. The armies were so large another like these would not be seen again until at least the 14th century. Zoroaster may have emanated from the old school of Median Magi and appeared first among the Medes as the prophet of a new faith, but met with sacerdotal opposition and turned eastward.

It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Eduard Meyer maintains that the Zoroastrian religion must have been predominant among the Medes, therefore, estimates the date of Zoroaster at 1000 BC, in agreement with Duncker (Geschichte des Altertums, 44, 78). This was a puzzling inconsistency since Constantia, half-sister of Constantine and wife of Licinius, was an influential Christian. Assyrian inscriptions relegate him to a more ancient period. In the year 320, Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan in 313 and began another persecution of the Christians. According to the Arda Wiraf, Zoroaster taught an estimated 300 years before the invasion of Alexander the Great. He gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. The matriarchal name is the only link to the Achaemenidian lineage.

His victory in 312 over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in his becoming Western Augustus, or ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire. Hutaōsa is the same name as Atossa, who apparently was queen consort to Cambyses II, Smerdis and Darius I. The large staring eyes will loom larger as the 4th century progresses: compare the early 5th century silver coinage of Theodosius I. Antiquated sources suggest Vištaspa was Hystaspes, father of Darius I. The great staring eyes in the iconography of Constantine, though not specifically Christian, show how official images were moving away from early imperial conventions of realistic portrayal towards schematic representations: the Emperor as Emperor, not merely as this particular individual Constantine, with his characteristic broad jaw and cleft chin. Placing the date of King Vištaspa is difficult. Also, Eusebius was a close friend of Constantine's sister; she probably secured his recall from exile. His death is not mentioned in the Avesta; in the Šahnāma, he is said to have been murdered at the altar by the Turanians in the storming of Balkh.

As the general custom, Constantine was not baptized until close to his death in 337, when his choice fell upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who happened, despite his being an overt ally of Arius, to still be the bishop of the region. His sons and daughters are repeatedly mentioned. Helena became known later in life for numerous pilgrimages. His first disciple, Maidhyoimaōngha, was his cousin; his father was, according to the later Avesta, Pourušaspa, his mother Dughdova, his great-grandfather Haēcataspa, and the ancestor of the whole family Spitama, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears this surname. Family influence is thought to account for a personal adoption of Christianity: Helena is said to be "probably born a Christian" though virtually nothing is known of her background, save that her mother was the daughter of an innkeeper and her father a successful soldier, a career that excluded overt Christians. Apart from this connection, the new prophet relies especially upon his own kindred (hvaētuš). Their sources are not stated. The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen Hutaōsa.

The rumours were reported however by 5th century historian Zosimus and 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras. Zoroaster was closely related to both: his wife, Hvōvi, was the daughter of Frashaōštra, and the husband of his daughter, Pourucista, was Jamaspa. There are rumours of step-mother and step-son having had an affair which caused Constantine's jealousy. The court of Vištaspa included two brothers, Frašaōštra and Jamaspa; both were, according to the later legend, viziers of Vištaspa. (Crispus was the only known son of Constantine by his first wife Minervina). In the Gāthās he appears as a historical personage. In 326, Constantine executed first his eldest son Crispus and a few months later his own second wife Fausta. Eventually he met Vištaspa, king of Bactria.

Constantine was also known for being ruthless with his political enemies, deposing the Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius, his brother-in-law, by strangulation in 325 even though he had publicly promised not to execute him upon Licinius' surrender in 324. Yasnas 53 & 9 suggest that he ventured to Rai and was unwelcome. There are also coins depicting Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun on a shield Constantine is holding and another (313?) shows the Christian chi-rho on a helmet Constantine is wearing. He then appears to have left his native district. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own. According to Yasnas 5 & 105, he prayed for the conversion of King Vištaspa. The depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and the globe in his hands. The Iranian Muslim writer Shahrastani endeavours to solve the conflict by arguing that his father was a man of Atropatene, while the mother was from Rai.

Thereafter the reverses of his coinage were dominated for several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" -- the inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. According to Yasna 59, 18, the zaraθuštrotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, had his residence in Ragha at a later (Sassanian) time. In mid-310, two years before the victory at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine reportedly experienced the publicly announced vision in which Apollo-Sol Invictus appeared to him with omens of success. This same text identifies Ērān Wēj with the district of Arran on the river Aras (Araxes) close by the northwestern frontier of the Medes. Gothicus had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol Invictus. The Būndahišn or Creation (20, 32 and 24, 15) says the Dhraja River in Ērān Wēj was his birthplace and the home of his father. Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine. Yasnas 9 & 17 cite Airyanem Vaējah, "Homeland of the Aryans" (Pahlavi Ērān Wēj), on the Ditya River, as the home of Zoroaster, and the scene of his first appearance.

The Augustan History of the 4th century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus, Crispus being a reported brother of both Claudius II and Quintillus. Textual evidence regarding the birthplace of Zoroaster is conflicting. After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in 309–310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the 3rd century emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle of Naissus (September, 268). They are the last surviving account of his doctrinal discourses presented at the court of King Vištaspa. Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy, and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of his rule. The Vendidad also gives accounts of the dialogues between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun god consistently appear on the reverse of the coinage. The Gāthās within the Avesta make claim to be the ipsissima verba of the prophet.

Coins struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography. The historical Zoroaster, however, eludes categorization as a legendary character. For the next eighteen years, he fought a series of battles and wars of consolidation that first obtained him co-rule with the Eastern Roman Emperor, and then finally leadership of a reunified Roman Empire. (Yasht, 17,19). Constantine managed to be at his deathbed in Eboracum (York) of Roman Britain, where the loyal general Crocus, of Alamannic descent, and the troops loyal to his father's memory proclaimed him an Augustus ("Emperor"). In the later Avesta, he is depicted wrestling with the Daēva or "evil immortals" (Pahlavi Dēwān), and, in remarkable prescience of Jesus in the New Testament, is tempted by Ahriman to renounce his faith. However, Constantius fell sick during an expedition against the Picts and Scots of Caledonia, and died on July 25, 306. It is important to note the differences between the Zoroaster of the later Avesta and the Zoroaster of the Gāthās.

In 305, the Augustus, Maximian, abdicated, and Constantius succeeded to the position. He had difficulty spreading his teachings, and was even treated with ill-will in his mother's hometown (an exceptional insult in his culture and time). Young Constantine was well educated and served at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia, after the appointment of his father as one of the two caesares(junior emperors) of the Tetrarchy in 293. However, they seem to contain allusions to personal events, overcoming obstacles in life imposed by competing priests and the ruling class. Theodora would give birth to six half-siblings of Constantine, including Julius Constantius. The Gāthās are poetic admonitions and prophecies, cast in the form of dialogues with God and the Aməa Spəntas "Immortals" (Pahlavi Amahraspandān). His father left his mother around 292 to marry Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter or step-daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Maximian. These human qualities support a historical Zoroaster, despite a lack of historical detail.

Constantine was born at Naissus, (today's Niš, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro) in Upper Moesia, to Constantius I Chlorus, a general of Greek descent, and Flavia Iulia Helena, an innkeeper's daughter who at the time was an adolescent of only sixteen years. He faces outward opposition and unbelief and inward doubt. . Here he is a mortal, empowered by trust in his God and the protection of his allies. These actions are considered major factors in that religion's spread, and his reputation as the "first Christian Emperor" has been promulgated by historians from Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea to the present day. Plutarch, drawing partly on Theopompus, speaks of Zoroastrianism in Isis and Osiris. Constantine is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313 and the Council of Nicaea in 325, which fully legalized and then legitimized Christianity in the Empire for the first time. Dio Chrysostom relates Zoroaster's Ahura Mazdā to Zeus.

Constantine is famed for his refounding of Byzantium (modern Istanbul) as "Nova Roma" (New Rome), which was popularly known in his time as "Constantine's City"— (Constantinopolis, Constantinople). Plutarch compares him with Lycurgus and Numa Pompilius (Numa, 4). Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (Latin: IMP CAESAR FLAVIVS CONSTANTINVS PIVS FELIX INVICTVS AVGVSTVS ¹) (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I or Constantine the Great, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops on July 25, 306 and ruled an ever-growing portion of the Roman Empire until his death. He seems to have enjoyed exploring the wilderness from a young age. Rassias,"Es Edafos Ferein", 2nd edition, Athens, 2000, ISBN 960-7748-20-4. According to tradition and Pliny's Natural History, Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth and lived in the wilderness. Vlassis R. The Greek writers recount a few points regarding the childhood of Zoroaster and his hermit lifestyle.

Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Letters of Marcus Cornelius Fronto. His first converts were his wife and children and a cousin named Maidhyoimangha. Galen, On the Natural Faculties. His illumination from Ahura Mazda came at age 30. Sources on the Antonine Plague